Sheriff Candidates Speak In Civil Forum At Unitarian Universalist Congregation

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Minn. — The November Election is a little more than 2 weeks away. One of the big races important to our area is the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office.

The two candidates Gordon Ramsey and Jason Lukovsky talked about what their priorities would be if they were to be the top cop of the county.

How well do you actually know your Sheriff’s Office? That was one question that both St. Louis County Sheriff’s candidates sought out to answer on Sunday.

At the Unitarian Universalist Congregation, roughly 30 people gathered to hear responses from the candidates as elections near for the Sheriff seat.

Former Duluth Police Chief Gordon Ramsay and current St. Louis County Undersheriff Jason Lukovsky voiced a similar vision of the future of policing in St. Louis County. As both aspire to increase recruitment and retainment of deputies and create a better response to mental health calls.

For Ramsay, building a force that connects with the community it serves and protects is important.

“In 2016, I left my hometown. I grew up in Duluth, went to Duluth schools. But I had an opportunity to go to Wichita, Kansas, as a police chief. Wichita is about 400,000 people, pretty diverse about 56% white. And the race relations were really suffering there. And I have a passion for race relations. We worked very hard to build relationships up with the communities of color there. We were also recognized nationally for that, as well as our homeless outreach,” said Ramsay.

For Lukovsky, being a lifelong resident of St. Louis County and dedicating his life to public safety has brought him to every area of policing. He sees opportunity for change in the jailhouse system.

“A proactive police presence in terms of investigating drug crimes, but we also need preventative measures and the aftercare. We’re seeing our jail used as a housing facility for people that deserve treatment rather than incarceration. Response to mental health calls is another concern. I think that we all should be aware of. We recognize over the last two years is that our response needs to be different. We are often at times sending law enforcement officials to calls where people need help, not necessarily someone in uniform or with a gun,” Lukovsky said.

Both candidates point out that the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office could do better in terms of being more visible to the public by sharing its struggles and accomplishments. Ramsay says that his time spent in Wichita can strengthen and diversify the Sheriff’s Office to better reflect the community it serves.

“We increased the applicant numbers, but we also significantly increased the diversity. We took the number of women from 11% to 17%. And we had the largest classes of people of color in the department’s history. The department will forever look different as far as racial make-up and gender make-up for as far as our actions,” said Ramsay.

Although only one will win the Sheriff’s seat this November, both Ramsay and Lukovsky said that they wish to work together for the future of public safety as they have found common ground on many issues.

Early voting is currently underway in Minnesota. The election is on November 8.